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Indianapolis International Airport

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Indianapolis International Airport is a public airport located seven miles (11 km) southwest of the central business district of Indianapolis, a city in Marion County, Indiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority. The airport is the largest in Indiana and a major hub for FedEx Express. This facility occupies approximately of land in Wayne and Decatur Townships of Marion County, all within the city of Indianapolis. It is also a focus city for AirTran Airways and Northwest Airlines.

History

Before it got its International designation in 1975, Indianapolis' primary commercial air passenger and cargo facility was called Weir-Cook Airport, after Col. Harvey Weir-Cook of Wilkinson, Indiana, who was a US Army Air Forces pilot in World War I and World War II, where he was killed while flying a P-39 over New Caledonia. He was a flying ace during WWI, with seven victories. The airport opened in 1931 and the name was changed to Weir-Cook in 1944. Since 1962 it has been owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA), an eight-member governing board with members appointed by the Mayor of Indianapolis and certain other officials from Marion, Hendricks, and Hamilton counties in central Indiana. The present name was bestowed by the IAA in 1975.

The current terminal opened in 1957 and has been renovated and expanded many times, most notably in 1968 (Concourses A & B), 1972 (Concourse D), and 1987 (Concourse C and the attached Parking Structure). This entire complex, along with the separate International Arrivals Terminal located on the north side of the airfield (off Pierson Drive), will become obsolete once the new Midfield Passenger Terminal currently under construction becomes operational in late 2008.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, USAir (now US Airways) maintained a secondary hub in Indianapolis, with non-stop jet service to locations on the west coast and Florida as well as turbo-prop service to cities throughout the Midwest. With 146 daily departures US Airways was the dominant carrier accounting for 49% of all seats. In the late 1990s, US Airways substantially reduced its service out of Indianapolis.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Indianapolis International Airport became a focus city for ATA Airlines and its regional affiliate, Chicago Express/ATA Connection. However, after the airline entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2004, operations at IND were drastically cut, and service from IND was totally eliminated in 2006. ATA's demise at Indianapolis gave Northwest Airlines the space it needed to grow.

In 1994 the BAA was awarded a 10 year contract to manage the Indianapolis International Airport. The contract was later extended three additional years but was cut a year short at the request of the BAA. Private management ended on December 31, 2007 and control was transitioned back to IAA management.

New Terminal / Future Plans

A state-of-the-art, midfield passenger terminal is currently being constructed between Indianapolis International Airport's two main parallel runways, to the southwest of the existing facilities and the crosswind runway. A new FAA Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRAC) building, 3rd tallest in the United States, opened in April 2006. The midfield terminal will open to the public on October 28, 2008.

The new terminal will consist of 38 domestic gates and 2 international (also function as domestic) gates. For the first time in the history of Indianapolis International Airport the international arrivals will be processed in the main terminal. The opening of the new terminal will also bring the airport its first VIP lounge since US Airways closed their lounge after dismantling the Indianapolis hub. Northwest Airlines recently revealed that it has intentions to open a WorldClub in the new terminal.

The airport's master plan also calls for a fourth (third parallel) runway to be built southeast of I-70 at some point in the future. Between 2002 and 2004, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) realigned and rebuilt a portion of this Interstate highway running through the south end of the airport's property. The reconfigured freeway was constructed to allow a future taxiway bridge serving the proposed fourth runway to cross overhead, as well as to provide a new traffic interchange to serve the midfield terminal complex currently under construction. This I-70 exit will soon become the airport's new main entrance, replacing the current "front door" at Sam Jones (nee Airport) Expressway and High School Road. Provisions have also been made to allow for future Light Rail Transit (LRT) access to the new terminal complex.

Accidents

On September 9, 1969, Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, which was flying Boston - Baltimore - Cincinnati - Indianapolis - St. Louis, was involved in a midair collision with a Piper Cherokee during its descent over Fairland, Indiana in Shelby County. The airliner, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31, crashed into a cornfield near London, Indiana, killing all 83 passengers on board.

On October 20, 1987, a United States Air Force A-7D Corsair II crashed into a Ramada Inn near the airport after the pilot bailed out. Ten people were killed, nine of them hotel employees.

On October 31, 1994, American Eagle Flight 4184, which was flying to Chicago, Illinois's O'Hare International Airport from Indianapolis, crashed into a soybean field, killing all 68 on board.

Airlines and destinations

Concourse A (Gates A1-A8)

  • Northwest Airlines Gates A1-A8 (Cancún [seasonal], Denver [seasonal], Detroit, Fort Lauderdale [seasonal], Fort Myers [seasonal], Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, Orlando, San Francisco [seasonal], Seattle/Tacoma [seasonal], Tampa, Washington-Reagan [seasonal])

    • Northwest Airlink operated by Pinnacle Airlines (Austin [begins May 2], Boston, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Hartford, Kansas City, Memphis, New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Raleigh/Durham, San Antonio [begins May 2], Washington-Reagan)

Concourse B (Gates B1-B6)

Concourse C (Gates C1-C10)

Concourse D (Gates D1-D10)

Public Transportation

IndyGo operates the Green Line Downtown/Airport Express daily from 5am to 9pm. From 5am to 9am and noon to 9pm the service runs every 15 minutes. From 9am to noon the service runs every 20 minutes. The express service costs $7 per passenger.

References

External links



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Last updated on Thursday March 06, 2008 at 16:07:04 PST (GMT -0800)
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